The Dragons held a press conference for Tanimoto at Nagoya Stadium today. He then traveled to Tokyo to tie up loose ends with the Nippon Ham Fighters. He could make the active roster as early as August 3.

Tanimoto told reporters during his press conference that the trade caught him by surprise. He also spoke about how he grew up watching the Dragons as a kid.

The Rakuten Eagles announced today that they reached an agreement to acquire thirty-three-year-old Luis Cruz from the Yomiuri Giants for cash. He was assigned the uniform number 67.

The Eagles held a press conference for Cruz today and he went 1-for-4 with an RBI in tonight’s game against the Softbank Hawks.

The Eagles were looking for some infield help after losing both Kazuya Fujita and Eigoro Mogi to injuries. The recent injury to Carlos Peguero also opened up a foreign player slot on their active roster.

The Yakult Swallows and Nippon Ham Fighters announced today that they reached an agreement on a one-for-one trade. The Swallows will send twenty-five year-old pitcher Toshihiro Sugiura to the Fighters for twenty-eight-year-old catcher Shogo Yagi.

The Yomiuri Giants and Rakuten Eagles announced today that they agreed on a one-for-one player trade that will send twenty-seven-year-old pitcher Yuki Koyama up North for twenty-two-year-old infielder Takahiro Kakizawa.

The media learned today that the Yomiuri Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters agree on a two-for-two player trade. The Giants will send twenty-six-year-old Taishi Ota and twenty-four-year-old Katsuhiko Kumon to the Fighters for twenty-eight-year-old Mitsuo Yoshikawa and twenty-three-year-old Shingo Ishikawa.

The Orix Buffaloes and Yakult Swallows announced that they reached an agreement on a trade that will send Ryosuke Yagi to Orix for Kazuki Kondo.

The trade is expected to helps both teams fill holes on their roster: the Swallows were looking for extra options for their starting rotation while the Buffaloes were in need of a left-hander for their staff.

The Buffaloes will hold a press conference for Yagi on July 21. He has been assigned the uniform number 65.